Methods and apparatus to identify streaming media sources

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture to identify media sources are disclosed. Example apparatus disclosed herein include an exclusivity determiner, a unique asset identifier, and a signature matcher. The exclusivity determiner is to determine whether media is exclusive to a provider. The unique asset identifier is to associate a first signature of the media with the provider if the media is exclusive to the provider. The signature matcher is to identify the provider based on a second signature, the second signature matching the first signature, the second signature extracted from media presented at a media presentation location.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent arises from a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/467,734, filed Mar. 23, 2017, which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to monitoring media presentation, and,more particularly, to methods and apparatus to identify streaming mediasources.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, presentation of media to users has been monitored andmeasured through the use of, for example, signatures for mediaidentification. Media monitoring companies make reference signatures ofidentified media (e.g., television programs, music, audio broadcasts,internet videos, audio and/or visual advertisements, etc.), typically todevelop a reference database. As unidentified media is presented to auser, a series of signatures of the unidentified media is made. Thesignatures of the unidentified media are then compared to the referencesignatures. When the signatures of the unidentified media match one ormore of the reference signatures, the unidentified media is identified.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example environment in which ameasurement analyzer constructed in accordance with the teachings ofthis disclosure operates to monitor media presentation.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the examplemeasurement analyzer of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions that may be executed to determine unique assets with theexample measurement analyzer of FIGS. 1-2 .

FIG. 4 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions that may be executed to credit providers of exclusive mediawith the example measurement analyzer of FIGS. 1-2 .

FIG. 5 illustrates an example technique utilized by the measurementanalyzer of FIGS. 1-2 to monitor media presentation.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example processor platform capable ofexecuting the instructions of FIGS. 3 and/or 4 to implement the examplemeasurement analyzer of FIGS. 1-2 .

Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughoutthe drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the sameor like parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Audience measurement companies desire to gain knowledge regarding howusers interact with client devices (e.g., televisions, handheld mobiledevices, smartphones, laptop computers, tablets, etc.). For example,monitoring companies want to monitor media (e.g., television programs,music, Internet videos, etc.) that is presented on the client devicesto, among other things, monitor exposure to advertisements, determineadvertisement effectiveness, determine user behavior, identifypurchasing behavior associated with various demographics, credit mediaconsumption rates, etc. Some known systems have utilized meters coupledto client devices to generate signatures of the media that is presentedon the client device. In some examples, the generated signatures areassociated with respective timestamps of when the signatures weregenerated. The meter-generated signatures are then compared to adatabase of reference signatures to identify and thus monitor mediabeing viewed and/or heard with the client device.

Signature or fingerprint-based media monitoring techniques generally useone or more inherent characteristics of the monitored media during amonitoring time interval to generate a substantially unique proxy forthe media. Such a proxy is referred to as a signature or fingerprint,and can take any form (e.g., a series of digital values, a waveform,etc.) representative of any aspect(s) of the media signal(s) (e.g., theaudio and/or video signals forming the media presentation beingmonitored). A signature may be a series of signatures collected inseries over a timer interval. A good signature is repeatable whenprocessing the same media presentation, but is unique relative to other(e.g., different) presentations of other (e.g., different) media.Accordingly, the term “fingerprint” and “signature” are usedinterchangeably herein and are defined herein to mean a proxy foridentifying media that is generated from one or more inherentcharacteristics of the media.

Signature-based media monitoring generally involves determining (e.g.,generating and/or collecting) signature(s) representative of a mediasignal (e.g., an audio signal and/or a video signal) output by amonitored media device and comparing the monitored signature(s) to oneor more references signatures corresponding to known (e.g., reference)media sources. Various comparison criteria, such as a cross-correlationvalue, a Hamming distance, etc., can be evaluated to determine whether amonitored signature matches a particular reference signature. When amatch between the monitored signature and one of the referencesignatures is found, the monitored media can be identified ascorresponding to the particular reference media represented by thereference signature that with matched the monitored signature. Becauseattributes, such as an identifier of the media, a presentation time, abroadcast channel, etc., are collected for the reference signature,these attributes may then be associated with the monitored media whosemonitored signature matched the reference signature. Example systems foridentifying media based on codes and/or signatures are long known andwere first disclosed in Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,294, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

Example systems, methods, and apparatus disclosed herein collect,analyze, collate, and associate signatures of exclusive (e.g.,distributed by one or a limited number of provider(s)) media. In someexamples, media is publicly known (e.g., via advertising campaigns,press releases, news media, articles, etc.) to be distributed (e.g.,broadcast) by a singular provider (e.g., the media is exclusive to theprovider). In some examples, media is streaming media originating from astreaming service provider (e.g., HBO®, Hulu®, ABC®, etc.). In someexamples, the media is presented via a network to an online device. Insome such examples, a reference generator determines uniform resourcelocators of webpages presenting the media and generates signatures ofthe media. In some examples, media is identified via the uniformresource locators and associated with the signatures generated by thereference generator. In some such examples, the identified media iscompared against a log of media publicly known to be exclusive to aprovider. In some such examples, where the identified media match loggedexclusive media, the signatures of the identified media are identifiedas unique assets. In some such examples, the unique asset signatures,the identified media, and the universal resource locators areassociatively stored in a reference library. In some examples, the mediais provided to the reference generator by a provider. In some suchexamples, the reference generator collects media information of themedia (e.g., a title) and a provider identifier (e.g., a name of theprovider) and generates a signature of the media. In some such examples,the media information is compared against the log of media publiclyknown to be exclusive to providers. In some such examples, where theidentified media match logged exclusive media, the signatures associatedwith the media information are identified as unique assets. In some suchexamples, the unique asset signatures, the media information, and theprovider are associatively stored in the reference library. In someexamples, a collection facility generates references including mediainformation, signatures, and unique asset identifiers based on mediasupplied by a provider. In some examples, media is presented on anon-online device (e.g., a television, radio, etc.). In some examples amedia presentation meter generates signatures of the media. In some suchexamples, the signatures generated by the media presentation meter arecompared to reference signatures in the reference library. In some suchexamples, where the signatures generated by the media presentation metermatch reference signatures, the media is identified. In some suchexamples, where the reference signature is a unique asset, a provider ofthe identified media is identified. In such examples, presentation ofthe media may thus be credited to the media and/or the provider.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example environment 110 in which ameasurement analyzer 112 constructed in accordance with the teachings ofthis disclosure operates to monitor media presentation. The exampleenvironment includes a collection facility 114, a media presentationmeter 116, a reference generator 118, a network 120 a first clientdevice 122, and a second client device 124. In the illustrated exampleof FIG. 1 , the first client device 122 is depicted as a television. Thesecond client device 124 may be any hardware device (e.g., a mobiledevice, a computer, a television, an over-the-top stick, an over-the-topbox, etc.). The example collection facility 114 includes the measurementanalyzer 112, a reference library 126, and an exclusive media database128. The example media presentation meter 116 includes a mediapresentation signature maker 130. The example reference generator 118includes a signature maker 132 and a source detector 134.

The measurement analyzer 112 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1determines whether media presented on the second client device 124,media provided to the reference generator 118, and or media provided tothe collection facility 114 is exclusive to a provider of the media. Themeasurement analyzer 112 associatively stores media information, asignature of the media, and an exclusivity determination in the examplereference library 126. In other words, the measurement analyzer 112generates new reference library entries with unique asset labels. Themeasurement analyzer 112 credits non-exclusive media presented on thefirst client device 122 (e.g., a number of presentation views for mediaavailable via multiple providers). The measurement analyzer 112 creditsexclusive media and respective providers of the exclusive media when theexclusive media is presented on the first client device 122 (e.g., themeasurement analyzer 112 tallies presentation views for both exclusivemedia and for unique providers). The measurement analyzer 112 may beimplemented by one or more processors included in one or more computers(e.g., servers) housed in the collection facility 114. The collectionfacility 114 may be a central building and/or multiple sitesinterconnected via the network 120. An example implementation of themeasurement analyzer 112 is described in conjunction with FIG. 2 .

The media presentation meter 116 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1generates signatures of media presented on the first client device 116.The media presentation meter 116 may include one or more audio recordingdevices (e.g., a microphone, a memory, a processor, a tape recorder,etc.) to record audio output of a non-online device (e.g., the firstclient device 116). The media presentation signature maker 130 mayinclude a processor and/or a memory to generate signatures from therecorded audio output.

In some examples, the reference generator 118 of the illustrated exampleof FIG. 1 generates signatures of media presented on the second clientdevice 124 and extracts media information via webpages on which themedia is presented and/or metadata of the media. The reference generator118 may include one or more audio recording devices and/or one or moreprocessors to record audio signals (e.g., output, electrical signals ofrecorded sounds, etc.) of an online device (e.g., the second clientdevice 124). The source detector 134 may include one or more processorsto detect a uniform resource locator (URL) of a webpage visited by theonline device, metadata of the media (e.g., file names, file sizes,headers, meta tags, media production equipment, media production date,media production software, etc.), and/or a direct media data submission(e.g., by a provider to the audience measurement company). Additionallyor alternatively, the source detector 134 may extract the metadata ofthe media presented from the webpage visited by the online device. Thesignature maker 132 may include a processor and/or a memory to generatesignatures from the recorded audio signals. In the illustrated example,the terms “media,” “media information,” “media metadata,” “media title,”“provider,” “audio signals,” “uniform resource locator,” “URL,”“webpage(s),” and source data refer to information, names, and/oridentifiers that are publicly available (e.g., open to the generalpublic, accessible, known, etc.).

The first client device 122 of the illustrated example is incommunication with the media presentation meter 116. The mediapresentation signature maker 130 generates signatures of the mediapresented on the first client device 122. The media presentation meter116 is in communication with the measurement analyzer 112 via thenetwork 120. The media presentation meter 116 provides signaturesgenerated by the media presentation signature maker 130 to themeasurement analyzer 112.

The second client device 124 of the illustrated example presents media(e.g., streaming media) obtained via webpages (not shown in FIG. 1 ). Insome examples, the second client device 124 reads media provided by aprovider (e.g., via an encoded disc, an electronic memory storagedevice, an electronic upload, etc.) The second client device 124 is incommunication with the reference generator 118. The source detector 134detects URLs of the webpages, media metadata, and/or provider-suppliedmedia information. The signature maker 132 generates signatures of themedia presented on the second client device 124. The reference generator118 is in communication with the measurement analyzer 112. The referencegenerator 118 provides the URLs, media metadata, and/orprovider-supplied media information to the measurement analyzer 112. Thereference generator 118 provides the signatures generated by thesignature maker 132 to the measurement analyzer 112.

The reference library 126 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 storesreference signatures generated from known media and corresponding mediainformation and/or providers. The reference library 126 may beimplemented by one or more processors and/or memory included in one ormore computers housed in the collection facility 114. An exampleimplementation of the reference library 126 is described in conjunctionwith FIG. 5 .

The exclusive media database 128 stores publicly known media informationof media publicly known to be exclusive to particular providers and thecorresponding providers (e.g., a title of a program available only fromone provider and the name of the provider). The exclusive media database128 may be compiled by examining a provider's public statements (e.g.,advertising campaigns, press releases, articles, etc.) regarding mediadistributed by the provider. The exclusive media database 128 may beimplemented by one or more processors and/or memory included in one ormore computers housed in the collection facility 114. An exampleimplementation of the exclusive media database 128 is described inconjunction with FIG. 5 .

The example reference library 126 and/or the example exclusive mediadatabase 128 may be implemented by one or more databases, files, datastructures, physical storage devices, etc.

The measurement analyzer 112 is in communication with the referencelibrary 126 and with the exclusive media database 128. The measurementanalyzer 112 searches the exclusive media database 128 to determinewhether the media presented on and/or provided to the second clientdevice 124 is exclusive to a provider. The measurement analyzer 112identifies signatures generated by the signature maker 132 as uniqueassets when the media presented on the second client device is exclusiveto the provider. The measurement analyzer 112 stores the uniqueasset-identified signatures. The measurement analyzer 112 compares thesignatures generated by the first client device 122 to signatures in thereference library 126. The measurement analyzer 112 credits the mediaand/or the provider when signatures generated by the first client device122 match the unique asset-identified second signatures in the referencelibrary 126.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of an example implementation ofthe example measurement analyzer 112 of FIG. 1 . The measurementanalyzer 112 of FIG. 2 includes a signature matcher 212, a creditor 214,a unique asset identifier 216, an exclusivity determiner 218, a providerdeterminer 220, and a media determiner 222.

The media determiner 222 of the illustrated example receives URLs, mediametadata, and/or provider-supplied media data from the referencegenerator 118 of FIG. 1 . The media determiner 222 determines (e.g.,extracts, reads, locates, etc.) media information (e.g., a title, aseason number, an episode number, etc.) of the media presented on thesecond client device 124 based on the URLs, the media metadata, and/orthe provider-supplied media data. In some examples, the media determiner222 may search for separating characters and/or phrases (e.g., “/,”“.com,” “.net,” “:,” “http,” etc.) and/or identifying keywords (e.g.,“title,” “episode,” “ttl,” “ep, “s,” “season,” etc.) to parse the mediainformation from the URL. Additionally or alternatively, the mediadeterminer 222 may visit the webpage corresponding to the URL to extractmetadata and/or to parse the media information. Additionally oralternatively, the media determiner 222 determines the media informationbased on the metadata received from the reference generator 118.Additionally or alternatively, the media determiner 222 parses the mediainformation from the provider-supplied media data received from thereference generator 118. Additionally or alternatively, the referencegenerator 118 parses the URL and/or metadata to provide the mediainformation to the media determiner 222.

The example provider determiner 220 is in communication with the mediadeterminer 222. The provider determiner 220 receives the URLs, the mediametadata, and/or the provider-supplied media data from the mediadeterminer 222. The provider determiner 220 also receives the determinedmedia information from the media determiner 222. The provider determinerdetermines (e.g., extracts, reads, locates, etc.) providers (e.g.,broadcasters, streaming services, online video channels etc.) of themedia presented on the second client device 124 based on the URL, themedia metadata, and/or the provider-supplied media data. In someexamples, the provider determiner 220 may search for the separatingcharacters and/or phrases, the identifying keywords, and/or names ofknown providers to parse providers from the URL. Additionally oralternatively, the provider determiner 222 may visit the webpagecorresponding to the URL to extract metadata and/or parse the provider.Additionally or alternatively, the provider determiner 220 determinesthe provider based on metadata received from the reference generator118. Additionally or alternatively, provider determiner 220 parses theprovider from the provider-supplied media data received from thereference generator 118. Additionally or alternatively, the referencegenerator 118 parses the URL and/or metadata to provide the provider tothe provider determiner 220.

The example exclusivity determiner 218 is in communication with theprovider determiner 220. The exclusivity determiner 218 receives theURLs, the media metadata, and/or the provider-supplied media data fromthe provider determiner 220. The exclusivity determiner 218 alsoreceives the determined media information, and the determined providersfrom the provider determiner 220. The exclusivity determiner 218 is incommunication with the exclusive media database 128 of FIG. 1 . Theexclusivity determiner 218 compares the media information to theexclusive media database 128 to determine whether the media presented onthe second client device 124 is exclusive to the determined providers.The exclusive media database 128 includes entries of media publiclyknown to be exclusive to providers and the corresponding providers. Theexclusivity determiner 218 searches the exclusive media database 128 foran entry matching the media information. When the exclusivity determiner218 finds a matching entry in the exclusive media database 128, themedia information under analysis is exclusive to the determined providerand the exclusivity determiner 218 makes an affirmative exclusivitydetermination. When the exclusivity determiner 218 does not find amatching entry in the exclusive media database 128, the mediainformation under analysis is not exclusive to the determined providerand the exclusivity determiner 218 makes a negative exclusivitydetermination.

The example unique asset identifier 216 receives the signaturesgenerated by the reference generator 118 of FIG. 1 . The unique assetidentifier 216 is in communication with the exclusivity determiner 218.The unique asset identifier 216 receives exclusivity determinations(e.g., yes or no) of the media presented on the second client device124, the media information, and the providers, from the exclusivitydeterminer 218. The unique asset identifier 216 also receives the URLs,the media metadata, and/or the provider-supplied media data from theexclusivity determiner 218. The unique asset identifier 216associatively stores the signatures generated by the reference generator118, the media information, the providers, the exclusivitydeterminations, the URLs, the media metadata, and/or theprovider-supplied media data in the reference library 126 of FIG. 1 .

The example signature matcher 212 receives the signatures generated bythe media presentation meter 116 of FIG. 1 . The signature matcher 212is in communication with the reference library 126 of FIG. 1 . Thesignature matcher 212 compares the signatures generated by the mediapresentation meter 116 of FIG. 1 to reference signatures in thereference library to identify the media and/or providers of the mediapresented on the first client device 122 of FIG. 1 .

The creditor 214 is in communication with the signature matcher 212. Thecreditor 214 receives identification of the providers and the identifiedmedia presented on the first client device 122 from the signaturematcher 212. The creditor 214 counts (e.g., credits) presentationinstances for the identified media presented on the first client device122 and for the providers of the identified media presented on the firstclient device 122.

In operation, in some examples, a first user views media presented on awebpage via the second client device 124. In some such examples, whilethe first user views the media, the example reference generator 118 ofFIG. 1 detects a URL of the webpage and/or media metadata and generatesa first signature of the media. In operation, in some examples, aprovider submits media and corresponding media data directly to thesecond client device 124. In operation, in some such examples, thereference generator 118 detects the provider-supplied media data andgenerates the first signature of the media.

In operation, the example reference generator 118 sends the URL, themedia metadata, and/or the provider-supplied media data to thecollection facility 114. In operation, the example reference generator118 sends the signature to the collection facility 114.

In operation, the example media determiner 222 receives the URL themedia metadata, and/or the provider-supplied media data from thereference generator 118 of FIG. 1 . The media determiner 222 analyzesthe URL the media metadata, and/or the provider-supplied media data todetermine media information of the media presented on and/or read by thesecond client device 124.

In operation, the example provider determiner 220 receives the URL, themedia metadata, and/or the provider-supplied media data and thedetermined media information from the media determiner 222. The providerdeterminer 222 analyzes the URL, the media metadata, and/or theprovider-supplied media data to determine a provider of the media.

In operation, the example exclusivity determiner 218 receives thedetermined media information, and the determined provider, from theprovider determiner 220. In operation, the example exclusivitydeterminer 218 also receives the URL, the media metadata, and/or theprovider-supplied media data from the provider determiner 220. Theexclusivity determiner 218 compares the media information to entries inthe exclusive media database 128 of FIG. 1 . The exclusivity determiner218 makes an exclusivity determination based on the comparison.

In operation, the example unique asset identifier 216 receives the firstsignature of the media viewed by the user from the reference generator118 of FIG. 1 . In operation, the unique asset identifier 216 alsoreceives the media information, the provider, and the exclusivitydetermination from the exclusivity determiner 218. In operation, theunique asset identifier 216 also receives the URL, the media metadata,and/or the provider-supplied media data from the exclusivity determiner218. The unique asset identifier 216 associatively stores the firstsignature, the media information, the provider, the exclusivitydetermination, the URL, the media metadata, and/or the provider-suppliedmedia data in the reference library 126 of FIG. 1 .

In other words, in operation in a learning mode, the media analyzer 112generates new reference signature entries having exclusivitydeterminations for the reference library 126 of FIG. 1 based oninformation from the second client device 124. In operation in ananalysis mode, described below, the media analyzer 112 credits mediapresented on the first client device 122 of FIG. 1 based on a signaturematch between the media and a reference signature and credits theprovider of the media based on the exclusivity determination of thereference signature.

In operation, a second user views media presented via the first clientdevice 122. While the second user views the media, the mediapresentation meter 116 of FIG. 1 generates a second signature of themedia.

In operation, the signature matcher 212 receives the second signaturefrom the media presentation meter 116 of FIG. 1 . The signature matcher212 compares the second signature to signatures in the reference library126 of FIG. 1 (e.g., the first signature). The signature matcher 212makes a match determination (e.g., yes, no, match, no match, etc.) basedon the comparison between the second signature and the signatures of thereference library 126 of FIG. 1 . When the signature matcher 212 makesan affirmative match determination (e.g., yes, match, etc.), thesignature matcher 212 retrieves media information and the exclusivitydetermination associated with the matched signature (e.g., the firstsignature). When the exclusivity determination associated with thematched signature is affirmative, the signature matcher 212 retrievesthe provider associated with the matched signature. When the exclusivitydetermination associated with the matched signature is negative, thesignature matcher 212 does not retrieve the provider associated with thematched signature.

In other words, when media publicly known to be exclusive to a provideris detected, the provider associated with the media presentation can bedetermined by the example signature matcher 212.

In operation, the creditor 214 receives the media information and,depending on the exclusivity determination associated with the mediainformation, the provider from the signature matcher 212. The creditor214 credits presentation of the media viewed by the second useraccording to the media information. When the creditor 214 receives theprovider from the signature matcher 212, the creditor 214 additionallycredits presentation of the media viewed by the second user according tothe provider.

While an example manner of implementing the measurement analyzer of FIG.1 is illustrated in FIG. 2 , one or more of the elements, processesand/or devices illustrated in FIG. 2 may be combined, divided,re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way.Further, the signature matcher 212, the example creditor 214, theexample unique asset identifier 216, the example, exclusivity determiner218, the example provider determiner 220, the example media determiner222, and/or, more generally, the example measurement analyzer 112 ofFIG. 1 may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware and/or anycombination of hardware, software and/or firmware. Thus, for example,any of the example the signature matcher 212, the example creditor 214,the example unique asset identifier 216, the example, exclusivitydeterminer 218, the example provider determiner 220, the example mediadeterminer 222, and/or, more generally, the example measurement analyzer112 could be implemented by one or more analog or digital circuit(s),logic circuits, programmable processor(s), application specificintegrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s))and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)). When reading any ofthe apparatus or system claims of this patent to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the example signaturematcher 212, the example creditor 214, the example unique assetidentifier 216, the example, exclusivity determiner 218, the exampleprovider determiner 220, the example media determiner 222 is/are herebyexpressly defined to include a tangible computer readable storage deviceor storage disk such as a memory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), acompact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc. storing the software and/orfirmware. Further still, the example measurement analyzer 112 of FIG. 1may include one or more elements, processes and/or devices in additionto, or instead of, those illustrated in FIG. 2 , and/or may include morethan one of any or all of the illustrated elements, processes anddevices.

Flowcharts representative of example machine readable instructions forimplementing the measurement analyzer 112 of FIG. 2 are shown in FIGS.3-4 . In this example, the machine readable instructions comprise aprogram for execution by a processor such as the processor 612 shown inthe example processor platform 600 discussed below in connection withFIG. 6 . The program may be embodied in software stored on a tangiblecomputer readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a harddrive, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disk, or a memoryassociated with the processor 612, but the entire program and/or partsthereof could alternatively be executed by a device other than theprocessor 612 and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware.Further, although the example program is described with reference to theflowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 3-4 , many other methods of implementingthe example measurement analyzer 112 may alternatively be used. Forexample, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and/orsome of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 3-4 may beimplemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machinereadable instructions) stored on a tangible computer readable storagemedium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory(ROM), a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a cache, arandom-access memory (RAM) and/or any other storage device or storagedisk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extendedtime periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarilybuffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, theterm tangible computer readable storage medium is expressly defined toinclude any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage diskand to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. Asused herein, “tangible computer readable storage medium” and “tangiblemachine readable storage medium” are used interchangeably. Additionallyor alternatively, the example processes of FIGS. 3-4 may be implementedusing coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readableinstructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/or machinereadable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-onlymemory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, arandom-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk inwhich information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended timeperiods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering,and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the termnon-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to includeany type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and toexclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. As usedherein, when the phrase “at least” is used as the transition term in apreamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term“comprising” is open ended.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions 300 that may be executed to implement the examplemeasurement analyzer of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 to determine unique assetreference signatures.

To start, the measurement analyzer 112 of FIG. 2 collects source data(e.g., a URL, media metadata, provider-supplied media information) ofmedia presented on and/or provided to the second client device 124(e.g., streaming media to be presented via a network) from the sourcedetector 134 of FIG. 1 (block 305). Next, measurement analyzer 112 ofcollects a signature for the media from the signature maker 132 of FIG.1 (block 310). Then, media determiner 222 of the measurement analyzer112 determines media information (e.g., a media title, a season number,an episode number, etc.) of the media from the source data (block 315).Next, the provider determiner 220 of the measurement analyzer 112determines a provider (e.g., a streaming service, an online videochannel, etc.) of the media from the source data (block 320). Then, theexclusivity determiner 218 of the measurement analyzer 112 determineswhether the media is exclusive to the provider (block 330).

If the media is exclusive to the provider (block 330), the unique assetidentifier 216 of the measurement analyzer 112 of FIG. 2 associates thesignature of the media with the media information (block 335). Then, theunique asset identifier 216 associates the signature of the media withthe provider (block 340). Then, the unique asset identifier 216 marks(e.g., identifies, notates, etc.) the signature of the media associatedwith the provider as a unique asset (block 345). Next, the unique assetidentifier 216 logs (e.g., stores, puts into memory, etc.) the uniqueasset-marked signature in the reference library 126 of FIG. 1 (block350). The instructions 300 then end.

If the media is not exclusive to the provider (block 330), the uniqueasset identifier 216 associates the signature of the media with themedia information (block 355). Then, the unique asset identifier 216logs the signature in the reference library 126 of FIG. 1 (block 360).The instructions 300 then end.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions 400 that may be executed to implement the examplemeasurement analyzer 112 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 to credit providers ofexclusive media.

To start, the example measurement analyzer 112 collects a signaturegenerated by the media presentation signature maker 130 of FIG. 1 fromthe media presentation meter 116 of FIG. 1 (block 405). Then, theexample signature matcher 212 of the example measurement analyzer 112 ofFIG. 2 determines whether the signature from the media presentationmeter has a matching reference in the reference library 126 of FIG. 1(block 410).

If the signature from the media presentation meter has a matchingreference in the reference library 126 of FIG. 1 (block 410), theexample creditor 214 of the measurement analyzer 112 of FIG. 2 credits apresentation to the media associated with the matching signature (block415). Then, the example signature matcher 212 of FIG. 2 determineswhether the matching reference is a unique asset (block 420).

If, the matching reference is a unique asset, the example creditor 214credits a presentation of the media to the provider associated with theunique asset matching reference (block 425).

If the signature from the media presentation meter 116 does not have amatching reference in the reference library 126 of FIG. 1 (block 410),the instructions 400 end.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example technique 510 utilized by the measurementanalyzer 112 of FIGS. 1-2 to monitor media presentation. In theillustrated example of FIG. 5 , example technique 510 analyzes URLs tomonitor media presentation. However, media metadata and/orprovider-supplied media data may also be analyzed to monitor mediapresentation. According to the example of FIG. 5 , example referencegenerator data 512 includes an example URL 514“www.mooviieez.com/supergreatshow/s1/ep5” and an associated examplefirst signature 516 “1A85, DE71, FA23” (e.g., representative of mediapresented on the second client device 124 and monitored by the referencegenerator 118 of FIG. 1 .).

According to the example of FIG. 5 , example determined referencegenerator data 518 includes an example provider 520 “Mooviieez” andassociated example media information 522 determined from the URL 514(e.g., respectively using the provider determiner 220 of FIG. 2 and themedia determiner 222 of FIG. 2 ), as denoted by a first arrow 524. Theexample media information 522 include an example media title 526 “SuperGreat Show,” an example season number indicator 528 “Season 1,” and anexample episode number indicator 530 “Episode 5.”

In the example of FIG. 5 , an example implementation of the exclusivemedia database 128 of FIG. 1 is shown in greater detail. According tothe example of FIG. 5 , the example media title 526 matches an exampleexclusive media title 532 “Super Great Show” that is exclusivelydistributed by an example exclusive media provider 533 identified in theexclusive media database 128 (e.g., using the exclusivity determiner 218of FIG. 2 ), as denoted by a second arrow 534. Matching between theexample media title 526 and the example exclusive media title 532indicates that media (e.g., presented using the second client device 124of FIG. 1 ) associated with the example media title 526 is exclusive tothe example provider 520.

In the example of FIG. 5 , an example implementation of the referencelibrary 126 of FIG. 1 is shown in greater detail. According to theexample of FIG. 5 , the example provider 520, the example mediainformation 522, the example URL 514, the example first signature 516,and an example exclusivity determination 536 are associatively stored inthe reference library 126 (e.g., using the unique asset identifier 216of FIG. 2 ). Other associated example providers, media information,URLs, signatures, and exclusivity determinations for other media arealso shown in the reference library 126 in FIG. 5 . In the example ofFIG. 5 , the exclusivity determination 536 is “Yes” because the examplemedia title 526 “Super Great Show” matches the example exclusive mediatitle 532 “Super Great Show” and is thus exclusive to the exampleprovider 520 “Mooviieez.” Thus, the first signature 516 associated withthe example media title 526 is a unique asset.

According to the example of FIG. 5 , example media presentation meterdata 538 includes an example second signature 540 “1A85, DE71, FA23”(e.g., representative of media presented on the first client device 122of FIG. 1 and monitored by the media presentation meter 116 of FIG. 1 ).

According to the example of FIG. 5 , the example second signature 540matches the first example signature 516 in the reference library 126, asdenoted by a third arrow 542. Matching (e.g., determined using thesignature matcher 212 of FIG. 2 ) between the first and second examplesignatures 516, 540 indicates that the media represented by the firstsignature 516 is the media represented by the second signature 540.Thus, because the media represented by the first signature 516 is knownto be exclusive to the example provider 520, the signature matcher 212determines that the media represented by the second signature 540originated from the example provider 520. Thus, presentation of themedia represented by the second signature 540 may specifically becredited to the example provider 520.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 600 capableof executing the instructions of FIGS. 3-4 to implement the measurementanalyzer 112 of FIGS. 1-2 . The processor platform 600 can be, forexample, a server, a personal computer, a mobile device (e.g., a cellphone, a smart phone, a tablet such as an iPad™), a personal digitalassistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVD player, a CD player, adigital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, a personalvideo recorder, a set top box, or any other type of computing device.

The processor platform 600 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor 612. The processor 612 of the illustrated example is hardware.For example, the processor 612 can be implemented by one or moreintegrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors or controllers fromany desired family or manufacturer.

The processor 612 of the illustrated example includes a local memory 613(e.g., a cache), the example signature matcher 212, the example creditor214, the example unique asset identifier 216, the example exclusivitydeterminer 218, the example provider determiner 220, and the examplemedia determiner 222. The processor 612 of the illustrated example is incommunication with a main memory including a volatile memory 614 and anon-volatile memory 616 via a bus 618. The volatile memory 614 may beimplemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), DynamicRandom Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM)and/or any other type of random access memory device. The non-volatilememory 616 may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desiredtype of memory device. Access to the main memory 614, 616 is controlledby a memory controller.

The processor platform 600 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 620. The interface circuit 620 may be implemented byany type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, auniversal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 622 are connectedto the interface circuit 620. The input device(s) 622 permit(s) a userto enter data and commands into the processor 612. The input device(s)can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, a microphone, acamera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, atrack-pad, a trackball, isopoint and/or a voice recognition system.

One or more output devices 624 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 620 of the illustrated example. The output devices 624 can beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystaldisplay, a cathode ray tube display (CRT), a touchscreen, a tactileoutput device, a printer and/or speakers). The interface circuit 620 ofthe illustrated example, thus, typically includes a graphics drivercard, a graphics driver chip or a graphics driver processor.

The interface circuit 620 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem and/or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data withexternal machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network626 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), atelephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone system, etc.).

The processor platform 600 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 628 for storing software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 628 include floppy disk drives,hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, RAIDsystems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives.

The coded instructions 632 of FIGS. 3-4 may be stored in the massstorage device 628, in the volatile memory 614, in the non-volatilememory 616, and/or on a removable tangible computer readable storagemedium such as a CD or DVD.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the above disclosedmethods, apparatus and articles of manufacture may aid in identifying,analyzing, comparing, and understanding media and when that media ispresented. By identifying signatures as exclusively originating from aparticular provider, media may be more quickly identified, which in turnmay provide insights into the preferences and habits of media consumers.Further, by determining exclusivity of signatures to particularproviders from network data, media presented via non-network devices maybe identified as originating from a particular provider withoutsupplementary identifiers (e.g., a watermark). Identification of themedia presented via non-network devices may thus be accomplished infewer operations by a processor, thus reducing processor demand in acomputer, as compared to analyzing supplementary identifiers plussignatures of media presented via non-network devices. Moreover,analyzing network data to determine exclusivity of signatures toparticular providers may make reference signature generation moreefficient. Learning about media consumers' preferences and habits mayhelp media broadcasters to provide media (e.g., music, movies,television programs, etc.) that media consumers want to hear and toadditionally deliver targeted advertisements for products that mayinterest media consumers.

Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacturehave been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is notlimited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope ofthe claims of this patent.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: at least one memory; computer readable instructions; and processor circuitry to execute the computer readable instructions to at least: determine whether first media is exclusive to a provider; in response to a determination that the first media is exclusive to the provider, mark, in a database, a first signature of the first media to identify the first signature is associated with a unique asset exclusive to the provider; compare a second signature associated with second media presented at a media presentation location with the first signature; in response to a determination that the second signature matches the first signature, retrieve an identification of the provider from the database; and credit presentation of the second media to the provider.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor circuitry is to: identify the first media based on source data collected from a reference generator; and identify the provider based on the source data.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the source data includes at least one of a universal resource locator, metadata of the first media, or provider-supplied media data.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the processor circuitry is to parse the source data and search for separating characters or phrases to determine the provider.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor circuitry is to determine whether the first media is exclusive to the provider by comparing media information corresponding to the first media with an exclusive media database of entries publicly known to be exclusive.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second signature is generated by a media presentation meter.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second signature is extracted during presentation of the second media at the media presentation location.
 8. An apparatus comprising: means for determining whether first media is exclusive to a provider, means for marking, in a database, a first signature of the first media to identify the first signature is associated with a unique asset exclusive to the provider in response to a determination the first media is exclusive to the provider; signature matching means for: comparing a second signature associated with second media presented at a media presentation location with the first signature; and retrieving an identification of the provider from the database in response to a determination that the second signature matches the first signature; and means for crediting presentation of the second media to the provider.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 further including: means for identifying the first media based on source data collected from a reference generator; and means for identifying the provider based on the source data.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the means for identifying the first media based on source data collected from a reference generator is to further parse the source data and search for separating characters or phrases to determine the provider.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for determining whether the first media is exclusive to the provider is to compare media information corresponding to the first media with an exclusive media database of entries publicly known to be exclusive.
 12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the second signature is generated by a media presentation meter.
 13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the second signature is extracted during presentation of the second media at the media presentation location.
 14. At least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to at least: determine whether first media is exclusive to a provider; in response to a determination that the first media is exclusive to the provider, mark, in a database, a first signature of the first media to identify the first signature is associated with a unique asset exclusive to the provider; compare a second signature associated with second media presented at a media presentation location with the first signature; in response to determining a determination that the second signature matches the first signature, retrieve an identification of the provider from the database; and credit presentation of the second media to the provider.
 15. The at least one computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to identify the first media based on source data collected from a reference generator and identify the provider based on the source data.
 16. The at least one computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the source data includes at least one of a universal resource locator, metadata of the first media, or provider-supplied media data.
 17. The at least one computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to parse the source data and search for separating characters or phrases to determine the provider.
 18. The at least one computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to determine whether the first media is exclusive to the provider by comparing media information corresponding to the first media with an exclusive media database of entries publicly known to be exclusive. 